Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything

For Whom the Bell Tolls Book Review

Let’s talk about the man, the myth, the bullfighter – Ernest Hemingway. He was known for his concise and masculine style of writing. He also received plenty of accolades for work. His best known titles are The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), The Old Man and the Sea (1952), and the subject of today’s review For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). For Whom the Bell Tolls was so successful at the time of its release that it sold over half a million copies and was considered for the Pulitzer Prize (it didn’t get it because an ex-officio chairman of the board vetoed the jurors’ unanimous choice). What do I think of it? It’s simply okay. There are parts that work, and others that don’t work as well.

For Whom the Bell Tolls shows the story of Robert Jordan, a young American from the International Brigades who’s fighting in an antifascist guerrilla unit in the Spanish Civil War. It tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. This is basically the fictionalized version of what Hemingway himself experienced while covering the war as a foreign correspondent for the Northern American Newspaper Alliance. Long story short, it’s about a guy who’s assigned to blow up a bridge with an antifascist guerrilla group and all the events that occur in the 3-4 days that he’s with them.

So readers would probably want to know if I have read any of Hemingway’s stories in the past. Yes, I have. In my English class in my senior year of high school, I read one of his Nick Adams stories “Indian Camp.” With that story, we learned how to detect subtext. And man, there was plenty of that knowing how Hemingway coined the phrase “iceberg theory” (or how Lindsey Ellis calls it “K.I.S.S.” [keep it simple stupid]).

Is there plenty of subtext in For Whom the Bell Tolls? There’s surprisingly not a whole lot. A good chunk of that could be found roughly in the first 100 pages. Afterwards, circumstances and motives become very clear. This makes sense as Hemingway perfected the “iceberg theory” while working in journalism, so writing a full-length novel allows him to discuss more topics explicitly.

Let me start off with the positive aspects of the novel. Hemingway is surprisingly good at writing women. At first, Robert’s love interest Maria feels like any other woman in a book written by a white guy in the mid-twentieth century, where beauty is more valued than personality. However, Maria went through sexual assault at the hands of fascists thugs. When she revealed her backstory to Robert, it made me feel a bunch of things like anger and sadness. Despite protests from him to stop, she was determined to tell her story as a way to heal herself. During a portion of the novel, Robert constantly thinks that if she had longer hair, she would be beautiful. However, when he hears of her tragic backstory, he immediately stops thinking that because he knows that her short hair is not her fault. Additionally, Pilar is a wonderful multi-dimensional woman. She can be manipulative and a bully at times, yet she’s the true leader of and mother to the group. I always looked forward to what she had to say. She’s easily more fleshed out than Maria. It makes me wonder if Hemingway inserted his third wife Martha Gellhorn into Pilar because the book is dedicated to her, and he liked to insert real people into his characters. Also, Pilar was a nickname Hemingway gave to his second wife Pauline Pfeiffer and to his boat that he had in Cuba.

Another aspect that worked was the misunderstandings within one side. During the third act, Robert orders Andres to give a note to Commander Golz calling off the bridge demolition. However, Andres runs into some obstacles like encountering antifacist officials who think he’s the enemy. It takes him hours to accomplish this. By the time Andres presents the note to Golz, Robert decides to go ahead and blow up the bridge. Moreover, early in the novel, the group gets to know one another by finding out the reasons why there’s fighting on the antifacist side. When Robert reveals that he’s an antifacist, one of the other members asks if he’s a communist (since they were backing the Republicans or those who wanted a democracy during the war). He says no, for he’s simply an antifacist. I can understand the misinterpretation since the fighters might not always share the same views as their supporters.

Now, let’s look at the aspects that don’t work as well. First, Hemingway didn’t need to make the novel 471 pages because not much occurs during a good chunk of it, and it takes place over the course of 3-4 days. There’s a lot of waiting and talking about what’s going to happen, but I’m forgiving since a lot of war involves waiting and strategizing, especially when to blow up a bridge. However, there comes a point, where there could’ve been more compelling short stories from the various parts from the novel. For example, Pilar’s recounting of the rampage at a village during the early part of the war was pretty interesting. However, once I came across Chapter 27, the book had a wake up call and started building up to the finale. This held my interest til the very end.

Nothing and everything occurs in For Whom the Bell Tolls. During the 3-4 days that Robert is with the group, he falls in love with Maria and gets involved in a plot to kill Pablo – the designated leader and Pilar’s husband. So, there’s plenty of action. It could’ve been a lot worse, it could’ve been The Polished Hoe, which has all the events taking place during one night and is 480 pages. Was there much action? Barely!

In addition, Robert Jordan feels a bit bland, for he’s the typical Hemingway Hero. That’s the problem. He’s typical. He displays honor, courage, and endurance like any other hero in Hemingway novels. What makes Robert stand out is that he loves to think long and hard about things like his father’s suicide and contemplates about whether or not this war is worth fighting for. This helps and hinders him, especially when his group tries to convince him to kill Pablo. Heck, even Hamlet does more in the namesake play than Robert Jordan does. I found it hilarious that in Chapter 35, Robert swears like a sailor but with the word muck. In the subsequent chapter, the author inserts the word obscenity like “what the obscenity.” I guess Hemingway wanted to make sure For Whom the Bell Tolls got passed the censors?

There’s also casual racism. During the course of the novel, Hemingway wanted to make sure that readers knew that the majority of the characters were Spaniards by mentioning their brown skin at almost every possible chance he got. You think that he would be aware of the fact that not every Spaniard has brown skin since he actually was in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, right? A lot of Spaniards have lighter skin. Moreover, there’s a Romani character named Rafael, who is seen as worthless because he’s lazy and a criminal. Robert Jordan even thinks that Rafael is those things because he’s a part of the Roma group.

Others complained about the use of thees and thous, but I really didn’t mind. Early on, Robert identifies that the Spainards speak in the old Castilian dialect. Anytime those characters used those archaic words, it meant they were speaking old Castilian Spanish, and Hemingway incorporated some real Spanish words and phrases to drive home the point.

Overall, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway is a rather okay book. I’m not sure if it should be in the literary canon today, but it has its worthy aspects that I’m sure some readers will enjoy. I would recommend it to those who love Hemingway and those interested in reading novels that take place during the Spanish Civil War. It’s no wonder why the book’s legacy basically lies in a 1943 movie version, a great Metallica song, and a Dog Man sequel.

Speaking of that film, there’s a special reason why I read this novel. I made a guest appearance on The 300 Passions Podcast, where we talked about the film version starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman as well as why it failed to make the cut on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…Passions list. I figured it would be best to read the book first, and then see how the film translates it to the screen. So stay tuned for my movie review as well as for that episode!

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

What Am I Reading – Chapter Twenty-Nine

Hi Everybody,

I’ve been reading lots of wonderful books lately, and I want to show two new titles that I started recently. Both of them contain main characters attempting to avoid persecution by passing.

Let’s begin with something that’s definitely suited for my profession!

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict (the pen name of Heather Terrell) and Victoria Christopher Murray explores the little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene – J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian – who became one of the most powerful women of New York despite keeping a dangerous secret that would prevent her dreams from coming true. In her twenties, Belle is hired by the legendary J.P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. She becomes a staple in New York society and one of the most powerful people in the book and art world, known for her taste and negotiating skills as she helps to build a world-class collection. However, she has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. Her darker complexion is not because of her Portuguese grandmother, but it’s because she’s Belle Marion Greener, daughter of Richard Greener – the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. This tells the story of a women known for her style, taste, and wit and the lengths to which she must go —for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.

I’m half way through the audiobook, and I really like it. Belle is a savvy librarian and art collector, and I enjoy the sections where she displays her style and wit. At the same time, Murray and Benedict are not afraid to show Belle’s vulnerability, especially when she gets close to Mr. Berenson – one of Morgan’s rival art collectors. The authors blend these two aspects together seamlessly. In addition, the fact that Belle da Costa Greene was a real person only adds to the realism of the story.

My only complaint is that the plot of The Personal Librarian feels too similar to that of Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict. I haven’t read the latter, but I couldn’t help but notice that their blurbs are almost identical. Both stories deal with women from a lower class who end up working for rich men. They display their business instincts so effectively that their bosses began to rely on them and even grow closer to them. However, they have to keep their guard up because of secrets that they harbor. For Belle, it’s that she’s a light-skinned black woman, and for Clara Kelley from Carnegie’s Maid, she’s a poor farmer’s daughter who assumes the identity of an Irish maid after the latter woman has vanished. It’s almost like Benedict has the same Mad Libs sheet, and she only changed the nouns.

The audiobook is narrated by Robin Miles. While Miles has acted on and off Broadway and in tv shows like Law and Order, she’s best known as an audiobook narrator. She has received accolades for titles like Just As I Am by Cecily Tyson and Michelle Burford, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson, and Charlotte’s Web. Miles has also recorded audiobooks for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate, and Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly.

Miles provides the main character with the needed elegance, wit, and vulnerability to make the character believable. She also distinguishes other characters well. While her male characters tend to have a similar Mid-Atlantic accent (unless they are explicitly from another country besides the United States), she sprinkles some vocal differences in them. For example, Morgan himself has a stern tone, and Mr. Berenson displays a kinder one. I look forward to hearing the rest.

Now, let’s move on to second and final title of this chapter.

Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale – And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman recounts the horrors that the author’s father faced during the Holocaust and how he survived with the Jewish people portrayed as mice and the Nazis as menacing cats. It also weaves in the story of a fraught relationship between the two men and the legacy of generational trauma. At every level this is the ultimate survivor’s tale – and that too of the children who somehow survive even the survivors.

And if in case you’re wondering, yes, I’ve also read Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History, and I plan on reviewing both as a single entity. And yes, I’m reading this because of the controversy surrounding the acclaimed graphic novel. However, I’ve had a personal interest in it for a very long time, and I’ll go more in depth about that in the actual review.

Now, onto the book itself, it’s very powerful. The Jewish people as mice and the Germans as cats recalls a quote that Hilter once said, “The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human.”

Depicting these people as animals makes it devastatingly clear how the Nazis and other Germans saw the Jewish people and how race played a huge role in identity.

It also doesn’t hold back showing how Vladek – the author’s father – survived Auschwitz with every possible opportunity. The black and white images show hung dead mice and even them being burned alive. It’s definitely not for someone who is easily triggered by content like that. In addition, in one section of the book, the author is shown wearing a mouse mask at a desk that’s on top of a bunch of dead mice. Other reviewers have pointed out the symbolism, but it’s worth repeating that it’s a great depiction of one man’s burden to tell the tales of those who vanished in the Holocaust and how being Jewish doesn’t entirely define one’s identity.

Another aspect that I’ve enjoyed both in Maus I and II is that Vladek is portrayed as a flawed individual. He constantly tries to save money in extreme ways like returning already open cereal boxes and gets into constant arguments with his son about various things. Also, he barks at Art when the latter and his wife Francoise pick up a black dog (uh, I mean man) from the side of the road. Vladek feared that he would steal their groceries. His racism against black people is definitely seen as hypocritical given the persecution he faced as a Jewish person in 1930s and 1940s Europe. I can’t wait to see how it ends!

We have now come to the end of the twenty-nineth chapter of “What Am I Reading?”

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

The Phantom Tollbooth Book Review

As I mentioned two weeks ago, for every Battle of the Books, the Children’s Librarians at my work get to pick 10 titles to read. They have to be from a variety of genres, but one of them has to be a classic. For this year, we decided on The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, who passed away one year ago tomorrow. I can absolutely see why; it’s wonderfully silly and absurd with an important message of applying what we learn.

The Phantom Tollbooth revolves around Milo – a bored kid – and his adventures in the Lands Beyond. After coming home from school one day feeling disinterested, Milo discovers a mysterious tollbooth that appears in his room. With nothing better to do, he drives through. While there, he encounters many places in the Lands Beyond like the Kingdom of Wisdom and the Island of Conclusions, meets various characters like a literal Watchdog, and embarks on a quest to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason. During his travels, Milo realizes that life is exciting and beyond his wildest dreams.

Unsurprisingly, The Phantom Tollbooth gets compared to Alice in Wonderland a lot, and it’s not hard to see why. Both have bored protagonists that encounter strange and unique worlds. Those environments are laced with absurd logic that the characters have to deal with, and both come across danger frequently. However, there are some crucial differences. For starters, Alice is on her own for her journey, while Milo has two companions – the Watchdog and the Humbug – for most of his quest. Also, the latter learns from his experiences, yet it’s not entirely clear if the former does. Finally and most importantly, what happens with Milo is real, while it’s all a dream for Alice. It also turns out that Juster never read Alice in Wonderland.

It’s clear that he wanted to do the whole person-goes-to-a-whole-new-world troupe, but in a special kind of way, and it works. At first glance, the Lands Beyond is the typical absurdist realm with logic that vastly differs from the real world. However, when one examines it a little closer, it’s one that’s filled with puns, lots of them! For example, in order to get to the Island of Conclusions, one has to jump. Also, one minor character is a bee that spells everything. On the other hand, since the book was published in 1961, there might be some puns that might fly over people’s heads. For instance, when the main characters are running away from the demons in the Mountains of Ignorance, one of the monsters is horned and named Dilemma. Some people might not know the phrase “on the horn of a dilemma.”

Luckily, readers are given a break from the puns every now and then. It’s not like some of the parody fantasy books, where they go overboard on them. This is especially true with the maps (I’m looking at you Kill the Farmboy!).

Moreover, in a handful of fantasy books, if the world is absurdist or contains a lot of anti-logic, it’s that way for the sake of it. In the case of The Phantom Tollbooth, there’s a legitimate reason why it’s that way. The princesses Rhyme and Reason have been locked away by two bickering brothers who rule their own kingdoms. As such, the citizens in the Lands Beyond act more like characters in a Marx Brothers film than in the normal world. It’s up to Milo, the Watchdog, and the Humbug to rescue them.

The illustrations are a wonderful addition to the story. The map has just the right amount of detail. It shows where certain places are as well as the terrain. Furthermore, the map looks like it was illustrated in the 1700s, which adds to how important the Lands Beyond see themselves, especially since it’s all done in pencil. The rest of the illustrations are well done. Milo is depicted as a typical white boy, while the sillier characters are drawn in the ways that the author describes. At one point, Juster tries to describe a monster to the readers, but since he lacks the articulation at that moment, he basically tells them to see it for themselves.

Now, we must talk about the characters. Milo is a bit bland because he stands in for every kid who felt bored at school. He isn’t much different from other protagonists who are transported to other worlds like Alice and Dorothy. The stand out characters are the ones that Milo comes across on his journey. These include the Humbug, a bug who’s arrogant and foolish and likes to use big words for the sake of loquacity; the kings of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis, who are the brothers that bicker and argue about their superior mode of communication; and the person who’s tall to short people and short to tall ones. They all have their one defining character trait, yet they’re all effectively silly in their own distinctive ways.

The one final thing that I want to mention is the messages. Normally, when these occur in children’s media, they tend to hit their viewers over the head repeatedly, but they can come off as shallow and even condescending if not executed properly. The Phantom Tollbooth has various messages, yet Juster integrates them into the story so fluidly that some might not realize that they’ve come across one. The whole plot revolves around applying the things that we learn. At first, Milo is bored with education because he doesn’t know what to do with the stuff he’s taught. Once he goes through the tollbooth and experiences in the Lands Beyond, he discovers that there are other ways to learn beyond the school setting. This quote hammers in that point: “But it’s not just learning things that’s important. It’s learning what you do with what you learn and learning why you learn things at all that matters” (p. 233).

Now to jump to my conclusion, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a wonderful classic kids’ book. It’s very silly, and it contains a profound message about learning and experiencing all of the senses. I’d recommend it to both adults as well as kids, especially to those who love fantasy, absurdist worlds, and puns. Now, if you all will excuse me, a tollbooth just showed up at my place, and I’m going to explore it. Bye!

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

What Am I Reading – Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hi Everybody,

I hope everyone had a great Presidents’ Day last week. I sure did because it gave me plenty of time to read. The titles that I’m going through right now are American Shaolin – Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly, Once Upon a Winter: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology , and the one I just started reading.

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is the first book in the Serafina series. Serafina and her pa – the maintenance man – have secretly lived in the basement at the Biltmore estate as long as she can remember. She has explored the mansion, yet she must take great care to never be seen. None of the rich folk including the owners – the Vanderbilts – know that she exists. But when various children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is – a man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore’s grounds at night. After she escapes, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt – the young nephew of the owners. Together, they must uncover the true identity of the Man in the Black Cloak before more children vanish. In the meantime, Serafina’s hunt leads her into the forest that her pa had taught her to fear. There, she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic, one that’s bound to her own identity. To save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek answers that will unlock the puzzle to her past.

I’ve read two-thirds of the book so far, and I like it. Serafina is a very interesting character who wants to know her true identity. For someone who’s been isolated for most of her life, she’s able to read people’s emotions pretty well. To be fair, she’s been observing the rich people all of her life. In addition, when her pa reveals where she actually comes from, her reactions are normal for a 12-year-old who just discovered the truth to something, ranging from relief that she has an answer to angry that her dad didn’t tell her sooner. I’ve been rooting for her to discover her true identity and to connect with people beyond the basement.

I also enjoy the world building in the novel. The descriptions of the basement that Serafina and her pa give it an isolated, yet comfy environment. For the Biltmore estate, it’s portrayed as a grand, but cold place with most of the rich people being indifferent to others who aren’t like them. This is especially true when Serafina leaves the grounds for the first time and remarks on how spooky it looks from the outside.

We’ll see how the rest plays out!

We have now come to the end of the twenty-eighth chapter of “What Am I Reading?”

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

The Crossover Book Review

As a Children’s Librarian, one of the tasks that I have to do every year is host Battle of the Books for 5th graders. For 2022, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander was one of the titles that we picked for a multitude of reasons. It won the Newbery Medal in 2015, and it’s the only one of the batch that’s written in verse. Additionally, Disney+ will produce a series based on the novel. I can easily see why; it’s fun, honest, and heartbreaking.

The Crossover tells the story of Josh and Jordan (aka JB) Bell – twin 13-year-olds who love playing basketball and excel at it too. But once JB falls in love with the new girl at school, Josh can’t help but feel left out, and their bond starts to unravel. The twins must come to terms with growing up on and off the court. This is especially true when they realize that breaking the rules comes at a price.

I was hooked on the first page. Josh and JB act like real brothers. They play basketball, but they have their differences. Josh, who goes by the nickname Filthy McNasty on the court, loves his dreads, English, and language. He is a good dunker too, but he sometimes thinks that the world revolves around him. JB has a bald head, and he loves to place bets. He’s also good at free throws. In addition, how they interact once their bond starts unraveling feels real. Josh tries to tell JB that he’s sorry only to be given the cold shoulder many times. How they make up feels natural without being overly sentimental. I also love the supporting characters like Chuck – their dad. He’s a former basketball player who loves jazz, especially Horace Silver, but he has some health issues that the brothers have different reactions to when things take a turn for the worse.

As I mentioned before, the book is told in verse. Not all of it is in rhyme, which may appeal to those might not like poetry for that reason. Additionally, the poems themselves have a wonderful flow to them. The ways that they are written, especially when Josh tells readers his play-by-plays on the court, are how they should be spoken, and they are a blast to read out loud! I would love to see how those sections are translated in the show.

Other aspects that makes the book unique is the way that it includes basketball lessons and definitions of various words (I assume these words are part of the vocabulary test that Josh and JB have to take). Every now and then, a lesson will show up in the book, but it’s not slapdash. They’re strategically placed at certain moments to reflect the plot at that time. For instance, when Josh is feeling down about all that’s going on around him, including JB not speaking to him, he relays this basketball lesson: “Rebounding/is the art/of anticipating,/of always being prepared/to grab it./But you can’t/drop the ball.”

As for the definitions, Josh would define a word, and then put it into various sentences, including one that ties into the story at that particular moment. For example, Josh describes hypertension – the illness the dad has – including how to pronounce it. He then puts it into a variety of examples, including “As in: I think/my grandfather/died of hypertension?”

It can be sugar coated in some places; that’s only because the mom doesn’t want the twins to worry too much about their dad. What is revealed about their dad’s failing health is handled in genuine ways. When the dad goes into a coma after playing some one-on-one with Josh, Josh goes into the “what if this happened instead” mode as he blames himself for stressing his father out too much.

All in all, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander is an excellent book that anybody from a tween to an adult can enjoy. Its characters and their relationships are highly believable, and despite their flaws, readers can still root for them. Also, did I mention this is in non-rhyming verse? I would recommend this title to those who love sports, especially the obvious; coming of age stories; and reading about siblings. I can’t wait to see how it does as a series on Disney+.

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

What Am I Reading – Chapter Twenty-Seven

Hi Everybody,

I hope everyone’s having a great Valentine’s Day! I sure am!

I have a new book to show you all. Sadly, it’s not a romantic book, but it’s very interesting.

Win by Harlan Coben is the first book in the Windsor Horne Lockwood III series. Over 20 years ago, Patricia Lockwood was kidnapped during a robbery of her family’s estate. For many months, she was locked up in an isolated cabin. She managed to escape, but so did her captors, and the stolen items were never recovered. In the present day on the Upper West Side, a recluse is found dead in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHLIII. Now, the police have a lead on not one, but two cases – Patricia’s kidnapping and a FBI cold case. Windsor Horne Lockwood III or Win doesn’t know how those items ended up there. However, his interest increases when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism – and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn’t: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice.

So far, the mystery/suspense aspects of this novel feel typical, but what makes it stand out is Win himself. Win tells readers right away that he’s very rich, and he’s not afraid to flaunt it. Some might like him because of his quick wit and how he executes his version of justice. Others might not like him as much because of how arrogant he can be and how he insults almost everyone that comes in contact with him (even if they deserve it). For me, Win is like what would’ve happened if Groucho Marx got reincarnated into Aaron Eckhart’s body, was extremely rich, and became aware of the pop culture happenings of the last 50 years. So yes, I’m enjoying this from that point of view.

I’m listening to the audiobook right now, and it’s narrated by Steven Weber. Weber is best known for roles like Brian Hackett on Wings and Jack Torrance in the TV miniseries version of The Shining. He’s also recorded various audiobooks for authors like Stephen King and Harlan Coben. I’m not surprised that Coben likes having Weber narrate his books. Weber gives Win an effortless suave, confident manly voice. He’s also really good at distinguishing other characters even if they can come off as over the top. Sadie – Win’s assistant – is voiced with a no-nonsense feminist tone, but it’s doesn’t come off like a caricature. On the other hand, a drunk at a local bar is voiced like WC Fields’s less dignified drunk brother. That one sounded like as if Weber was recalling drunk people that he’d seen on TV as opposed to real life. Despite that, it’s still a good vocal performance that I look forward to hearing more of.

We have now come to the end of the twenty-seventh chapter of “What Am I Reading?”

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

The Water Dancer Book Review

Warning: This book review contains references to sexual assault.

Within the last two years, there’s been a call to reexamine how the United States views its racist past, slavery in particular. Many authors – mainly black – have published these kinds of narratives, especially within the last 50 years. They show up as both nonfiction and fiction, but as I’ve said on this website, the latter helps readers to better understand the feelings of the people involved in that point in history. With that being said, The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates stands out from these kinds of stories through certain elements.

The Water Dancer is about a slave named Hiram Walker. When he was a boy, his mother was sold away, and he was robbed of all memory of her. However, he was gifted with a mysterious power. That same gift saves his life years later when he almost drowns in a river. This brush with death empowers him to perform a daring scheme: to run away from the only home he’s ever known. Hiram goes on an unexpected journey that takes him far and wide. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.

Every slave narrative includes some form of suffering to show how horrible it was to be a slave. A lesser book would try to have whippings and beatings up the wazoo, but that’s not much of the case here. Sure, the physical suffering is acknowledged, yet Coates focuses more on the emotional and mental kind. For example, Hiram grew up on a Virginia plantation called Lockless as the black son of the plantation’s owner. He spends a good chunk of the novel looking back on how he wanted to be loved by the only parent he had left. However, that could never happen simply because of the color of his skin. As a child, he was reminded that the people who raised him on the plantation like Thena were more like family than his biological one even when he spent days learning alongside his white half-brother Maynard.

Another thing that this book does well is that it focuses on the actions of its characters. In other words, it’s less poor Hiram and more what he’s going to do and how he’s going to accomplish it. For instance, when he is caught by Ryland’s Hounds – the slave catchers, he spends three weeks in their jail and goes through some horrendously awful things, including the white men touching him in places where they shouldn’t have. Hiram tries to keep his mind at blank while that kind of torture occurs, a similar tactic he used when his mother was taken away.

Coates uses terms like “Tasked” and “Quality” to further support the emphasis on the action. The “tasked” are the slaves since they are tasked to do things on the plantation, and the “Quality” are the masters in various capacities because they are able to live a quality life because of their skin color.

The supporting characters – both black and white – are pretty compelling. Sophia – Hiram’s love interest – is the special property of Nathanial Walker – Hiram’s uncle. When living on Lockless, Hiram has to take her to Nathanial’s plantation on the weekends, yet Sophia wants to be free as much as he wants to, especially after it’s revealed that Nathanial had raped her. At one point, she makes it very clear her yearning for her own agency when telling Hiram “But what you must get, is that for me to be yours, I must never be yours.”

Another supporting character that stood out was Corrine Quinn. On the surface, she is a refined white Southern lady who wears makeup and attends social gatherings like any other white person at that time would. But deep down, she’s an abolitionist who works for the Virginia Underground. Her plantation is a station for those who are a part of that organization. She’s highly intelligent, and contributes significantly. At the same time, she wants control and rules with zeal, much like other “Quality.” Hiram points this out to her at the end of the novel. Additionally, she and the other high-ranking members (both black and white) of the Virginia Underground don’t fully think through the obstacles that they put Hiram through. He calls them out on this as well.

In addition, unlike most historical fiction novels, I found it interesting that the book refuses to specify the time in which the events occurred. For a while I was trying to listen for clues, but besides one supporting character being a well-known name in the Underground and the mentionings of women wearing hoop skirts, I didn’t find anything that would clearly specify which years the story took place. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn’t care. The point was that there was slavery, and some slaves were trying to escape, and Coates probably wanted to find a creative way that they could do that.

Now, readers will want me to talk about the magic realism part of the book, and so I will. This is the aspect that obviously stands out the most. It involves water as a conductor (ha, get it!) and memory to propel one to great distances. There’s a poignant part of the story, where Moses (who also goes by the name Harriet) demonstrates this power by conducting herself, her family, and Hiram to one of the Underground stations. It turns out that Hiram possesses that ability, but for him to travel far, he has to dive into (pun totally intended) his deep memories. This lays out the main conflict in the story. He’s great at remembering things like other people’s stories, yet he cannot remember his mother, and his most profound ones involve her.

If I have to complain about something in this novel, it’s that I couldn’t really connect to it. I know I’ve said that before, but I sincerely wanted to enjoy this novel. The more I like something, the more I remember it. And yet for some reason, I wasn’t able to do that a whole lot. Even after reading it over seven months ago, I had to remind myself of certain elements in the story. One reason was because as much as Coates’s writing is intelligent and detailed, he can go off into tangents at times, and it lost me at those points. Another reason was a personal one. I wasn’t really able to relate because my life experiences as a white woman are not as simliar as those of a mixed race man in slavery. Again, I like it; I wanted to enjoy it more.

However, what kept me going with the novel was the audiobook narration done by Joe Morton. Morton has appeared in movies like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Speed. He even won an Emmy for his role as Eli Pope – Olivia’s father – on Scandal. He is no stranger to audiobooks as he has recorded over 20 of them, including that of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. His narration on this novel is pretty good. He makes clear distinctions among various black and white characters. Also, when he has to sing as Hiram, he gives it his all like his life depends on it, and it helps that he has a beautiful singing voice. In fact, he gives all of his characters life and a wide range of emotions, especially when Thena explains why she can’t go to her now freed daughter.

Overall, The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a well-written book that stands out among its slave-centric stories. It utilizes the power of memory in a pretty creative way, and it contains compelling characters. Most importantly, it focuses more on their actions as opposed to their suffering. I would recommend this to those who like reading about slavery, fantasy, and books by Coates as well as to those who want to read more novels by authors of color. While I did like it, I’m sure there are more people who will connect to it more than I did, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

What Am I Reading – Chapter Twenty-Six

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a few weeks since the last chapter, but I’ve been reading two new books that I’d love to share with you!

Let’s begin with our first title!

Writers & Lovers by Lily King is about Casey Peabody – a 31-year-old struggling writer. After the sudden death of her mother and end of her most recent relationship, Casey arrives in her home state of Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage while trying to pen a novel that she’s been working on for the last 6 years. At her age, Casey holds on to what her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls in love with two different men, her world falls apart even more. Casey’s fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.

So far, this is a compelling character study. Even though not much happens throughout a good chunk of the book, I find Casey to be an interesting character. At age 31, she’s still trying to figure things out, while everything falls apart around her. This explains why she’s stuck in a rut. I think some readers might be annoyed with her since she doesn’t do much. At the same time, she’s experiencing a big writer’s block, so it’s understandable why she’s incapable of doing a whole lot outside of work. Also, she can be snarky and cynical, but these are mainly defense mechanisms from getting too vulnerable with others.

Also, the two men that Casey falls in love with couldn’t be more opposite from one another. In one corner, Oscar is a successful author with two sons, and he adores her. In the other, Silas is of Casey’s age and is too trying to figure out life. However, he is full of mixed signals. This is especially apparent when he drives across the country on the day of what was supposed to be their first date. There would be a clear choice, but Oscar has been showing more of his true colors to Casey lately, and she’s not really liking it. I can’t wait to see what happens, even if she doesn’t end up with either of them.

I’ve been listening to the audiobook, which is narrated by Stacey Glemboski. Glemboski is a professional audiobook narrator who has recorded books from a variety of genres. In 2020, she was a Sovas finalist for Audiobook narration–fiction–best voiceover for this title, and I can see why. From the moment I heard Glemboski speak, I immediately imagined Casey being Charlize Theron in the movie “Young Adult.” This is very fitting since that movie also tackles with the struggles of trying to figure out one’s life while in their thirties. Additionally, this vocal performance provides Casey’s snarky and vulnerable sides effectively. As for the other characters, Glemboski does a fine job distinguishing among them like Harry – Casey’s gay friend from work – with a posh British accent, Oscar with a Pierce Brosnan charm without the dialect, and Silas with a slightly slower and rougher tone. I can see why Lily King recruited her again for the audiobook of her 2021 collection of short stories Five Tuesdays in Winter. Overall, it’s the strongest vocal performance I’ve heard in awhile.

And now, we’ve come to the second and final title in this chapter.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is about Ada – an eleven-year-old girl who lives with a clubfoot during World War 2. She has never left her family’s one-room apartment. Her mother is far too humiliated by Ada’s disability to let her outside. When her brother Jamie is shipped out to London to escape the war, Ada takes the chance and leaves too. The siblings end up with Susan Smith – a woman who initially didn’t want to have children, yet she takes them in anyway. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan, and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

This book is a 2016 Newbery Honor Book, and it’s easy to see why. Its protagonist is disabled, yet the novel only feels sorry for her when it needs to. For the rest of the time, it highlights what Ada does to become more independent and trusting of others. It also shows her as a flawed child. At times, I was frustrated by her because it was clear that the people around her wanted to help, but she would have none of it. However, I understood why she felt that way due to the trauma inflicted by her mother and the environment she lived in prior to residing with Susan.

I also want to point out that there are parts that can be tough to get through. For example, the scenes in the apartment can be intense. This is especially true when Ada uses rather cruel methods to keep Jamie in the apartment, and when their mother stuffs her in the cabinet. Fortunately, that’s mainly in the two chapters. In addition, there are moments, in which Ada has panic attacks. Luckily, from where I’m at in the story, it’s slowly getting better for her. I look forward to seeing what the outcome is.

We have now come to the end of the twenty-sixth chapter of “What Am I Reading?”

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

Literary Travel – New Orleans Edition Part Two

Hi Everybody!!

As a librarian and overall literary nerd, one of the things that I had to do in New Orleans was check out some bookshops to see what they had. My husband and I went into four unique antiquarian & second-hand bookstores. All of them were conveniently located in the French Quarter, which made it easy for us to locate them on foot. The photos used were ones that I took unless noted.

First up is Arcadian Books & Prints.

Photo Credit: Ellis Anderson for the *French Quarter Journal*

For over 40 years, Arcadian Books & Prints had offered a variety of items like DVDs; prints; and used books from a whole lot of genres, including some in French (hence its alternate name Livres D’Arcadie) and rare copies of select titles (like a Cold-War-era book that covered Russian Marxism).

The shop has been described by the French Quarter Journal as “organized chaos,” and it’s easy to see why. All of the books are stacked on top of one another, yet they’re not always on the shelves.

There was a narrow walk space for us to use. This was fine for someone who’s small and skinny (like me). On the other hand, my husband had a tough time navigating the bookshop due to his height. He was cautious moving around because he didn’t want to bump his head on the shelves above. In fact, he mentioned that he felt like a bull in a china shop.

Oh and I forgot, there was a fan hanging above. Knowing how hot summers can be down in the south, I’m sure customers are thankful to have that. Above the fan is, I kid you not, a shelf that acts like the Arc de Triomphe, or should I say the Arc de Livres. I’m not going to lie: I was worried that the shelf would collapse on us while we were there. Luckily, it didn’t since it was probably made from steel panels. These stood out in a store containing wooden shelves for the rest of the items.

While there, I bought Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans by Joan B. Garvey and Mary Lou Widmer. From I understand, it’s a good overview of the history of the Crescent City. I can’t wait to read and review it.

Overall, Arcadian Books & Prints is a disorganized bibliophile’s dream as long as they are small and are comfortable in compact spaces (sorry, claustrophobic people.) They don’t have an official website, but if you want to find out more about them, you can call them at (504) 523-4138 for more details.

Our second bookstore is Beckham’s Bookshop!

Beckham’s Bookshop is a second-hand bookstore that contains 50-60,000 titles on two floors. Those books cover any topic imaginable like food, movies, theater arts, and foreign languages. It has been open since 1967 and at its current location since 1979.

Various newspaper articles about the bookshop over the years grace several bookcase ends. This shows that the place is proud of it history, and as someone who has studied history and archival administration, this made me very happy.

The bookstore also contains vinyls, but one can go up to the third floor to find more of the latter at Man Ray Records – a music shop that sells vinyls of various genres ranging from jazz to opera.

And last, but not least, Beckham’s has its own book cat named Juniper. Juniper is 13 years old and has been at the bookshop since he was a kitten. He was asleep during the time we were there, but I managed to pet him when he eventually woke up.

Beckham’s had wider walkways, so it was easy for us to roam around the store. There’s even chairs around for those who need to sit.

To access the second floor, a wooden staircase is located by the entrance. While there, people can look at even more books like these for the kids and young adults.

Overall, Beckham’s Bookshop is a bookstore that’s full of wonderful surprises and a rich history. It’s definitely for readers who like to read everything (like myself), music, and cats, but anybody can come in! To learn more about them, one can access their Facebook and Instagram pages!

Now, let’s look at our third bookstore – Crescent City Books!

Started in 1992, Crescent City Books is another bookstore that offers a variety of books with an emphasis on local history.

What makes this bookstore stand out is that they offer original maps and prints from the last 500 years! The maps even included the original plan for New Orleans and Manhattan! The prints contain botanical and architectural ones as well as engravings, etchings, and woodcuts. Crescent City wanted customers to know that these prints are NOT reproductions.

The store itself is in a small space, but the walkways are wide enough that people can move around. It even has a bench for those who need to sit down.

Adding to its authenticity image, the bookstore also contains leather bound books, both in a case and out of it.

Of course, I have to admit that I bought the book Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children: . . . and Other Streets of New Orleans! by John Chase, which discusses the origin of the various street names in the Crescent City. Like with the title mentioned above, I can’t wait to read and review it!

Overall, Crescent City Books offers the most unique items with its antique maps and prints! If people want to buy items that are distinct to New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, this bookstore is the best place for that! To learn more about them, one can check out their Facebook and Instagram pages!

And finally, we have Faulkner House Books!

Photo Credit: Jenidza Rivera – Date: 2017

Faulkner House Books is a bookstore that contains fine literature, rare editions, and of course, books by William Faulkner. Apparently, he lived in that specific building when he wrote his first novel Solider’s Pay.

It was ironically the first bookstore that we encountered. When I say encountered, it was more like we stumbled upon it as we were trying to find a place to book some tours. As one can see from the photo above, it doesn’t have much signage outside of its name and a plaque indicating that Faulkner lived there.

Nevertheless, I’m glad that we went there because despite the space being limited to two rooms, it was the quaintest of the bookstores that we went to. I think it was the old fashioned lamps and the chandelier. It was also the most organized of all the bookshops we went to as all of the books were lined up spine to spine in neat ways.

The bookstore emphasized poetry, which makes sense as Faulkner himself wrote plenty of poetry. Al lot of them were stored in separate bookcases in a hallway that lead to a fancy gate that indicated the space it was guarding was private.

Another aspect that made Faulkner House Books was that it possessed pictures and notes of various writers who spent time in New Orleans like Tennessee Williams and Ernest Hemingway. One of them included a photo of Williams and Marlon Brando in the Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire. That one is second from the top on the right.

Joanne was the lady who works at Faulkner House Books, and she was very kind and personable as we chatted up on the house itself as well as, you guessed it, books. It also turns out that she does personalized book subscriptions. These involve sending the reader 3 to 5 books a month based on their personal tastes. One can go to the Faulkner House Books website to find out more details.

Sadly, I didn’t partake in the subscription, yet I purchased two books while I was there. One was The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics by John Pollack. I love puns as well as how it parodies the title of one of Hemingway’s most famous novels. The other one was called New Orleans Sketches by William Faulkner. I had to buy that while at the one-time residence of that author. It contains stories that he wrote while living in New Orleans, while working on his debut novel. Also, it’s like ordering gumbo at a New Orleans gumbo shop. It’s mandatory. I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing both!

Overall, Faulkner House Books is a cozy bookstore tailored made for those who love the classics, poetry, and the idea of other people picking out their books to read. It’s a compact space, but my husband and I had no problem going through it. Along with their website, one can also find them on Facebook and Instagram!

And that concludes of the first installments of my new series “Literary Travel!”

Let me know what you think of this series!

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!

Literary Travel – New Orleans Edition Part One

Hi Everyone!

This week, I promised you all something special for Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Day, and I have it here. Yesterday, I celebrated this day by going to the Odgen Museum of Southern Art for its 5th Annual Free MLK Jr. Day Celebration. It was presented with support provided by Cox Communications.

The event contained a museum scavenger hunt, family friendly entertainment, an interactive “I Have a Dream” wall, and a lot more. My husband and I had fun writing our own ” I Have a Dream” messages, and I had a great time using the 360 degree photo booth!

With all of that, I’d the say the highlight of my time at the museum was attending the panel discussion that explored “the history of social justice activism in New Orleans, as well as contemporary social justice movements in the city.”

Led by Shukrani Gray, African American Resource Collection Equity and Inclusion Librarian at the New Orleans Public Library, the panel consisted of guests like Mariah Moore – an award-winning social justice advocate, National Organizer at the Transgender Law Center, and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the House of Tulip – and Leon Waters – the board chairperson of the Louisiana Museum of African American History as well as tour host and manager of Hidden History, L.C.C.. Both guests espoused their knowledge perspectives on the history of social justice movements in the city and what people could do to continue the communal effort.

Since Waters is the manager of Hidden History, he received cheers and ruffled some feathers with asserting that MLK became a hero for the oppressive party and that he was murdered by the FBI (the latter has been proved to be false.) Despite that misinformation, Waters was right was about how we shouldn’t put MLK on the pedestal. Like other famous names in the 1960s civil rights movement, he has been mythologized, and it’s important to humanize him and to see the events from that era from multiple perspectives, so we can have a more nuance view on that time.

Overall, it was a fun time, and I certainly look forward to attending more events like this and finding ways to enhance equity and inclusion as a librarian.

Stay tuned for part two next week where I show you all the bookshops that I explored in New Orleans!

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!